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EU resolution on propaganda evidence of crisis of Western values — Russian lawmaker

The resolution adopted by the European Parliament on combating other countries’ propaganda, including Russia, serves as evidence of the crisis of the Western system of values, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Russian Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee, wrote on his blog.

“Extreme demonization of Russia in this document has its reasons and sources not in Russia but in Europe or, if you wish, in the West,” Kosachev said. “Emergence of such resolutions is a reflection of a serious crisis in the Western system which, as we are finding out, touched upon not only institutions but also values,” he noted. If such events as Brexit, Donald Trump’s victory at US presidential elections, growing popularity of right parties and anti-migration sentiment in Europe, falling levels of trust of the population to the media and politicians, can only be explained by “scheming enemy propaganda” and exogenous influence, then “this speaks for itself,” Kosachev stressed.

The West is not ready to accept “the true media pluralism and found nothing better than to just blast the source of information itself,” the lawmaker continued. “In reality, they are fighting not against facts but rather against assessments. If our international media allowed any factual distortions, journalists would have long ago been taken to courts and condemned publicly,” he said. “Instead of this, there are just accusations of propaganda and calls not to listen to it,” he added noting that by doing this, European lawmakers only humiliate residents of EU member countries because they recognize them as unable to independently analyze the information provided by foreign media.

Despite the obviously unfriendly step of the European Parliament, Russia should not “take any similar measures toward Western journalists and media,” Kosachev said. “Russia is confident that she is right. Her power is precisely in the fact that she provides an alternative view on what is going on in the world,” he added. “This is a democratic approach, and I can only be glad about its powerful influence in the West, which is confirmed by another resolution against ‘Russian propaganda’, that is against a free but different opinion,” he concluded.

About resolution

On Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution aimed at combating other countries’ propaganda, including Russia. A total of 691 MPs were present at the session, 304 of whom voted in favor of the resolution, 179 voted against it while 208 abstained from voting.

On October 10, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs approved a report on combating propaganda which named the Russian media one of the main threats. The document mentioning some Russian media in particular, was prepared by a Polish member of the European Parliament, Poland’s former Foreign Minister Anna Fotyga. According to her, Russia’s authorities have been using a wide range of tools and instruments including special funds as well as TV channels, information agencies and social media in order to attack Western values and sow discord among European Union member states.

The resolution of the European Parliament mentions Russian TV channel RT, Sputnik agency, Russkiy Mir (or Russian World) Foundation and the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo).

Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Supremacy of Law Konstantin Dolgov said in this connection that the resolution stipulates discrimination and violation of international law.